Friday, 27 April 2012

FRIDAY MORNING RAMBLE: Anzac Week edition

It’s Friday. It’s the ramble. You know the drill. But first, the quote for the week.

No concept man forms is valid unless he integrates it without contradiction into the total sum of his knowledge. - Ayn Rand

Think about it. Now, on with the show…

The Murdoch-bashing of the smart set who believes he ‘controls Britain’ has crossed the line from rational inquiry into David Icke/Ian Wishart territory. As Tim Abrahams observes, "Murdoch is only as powerful as politicians have allowed him to be." Is Murdoch really a lizard in a suit? – Brendan O’Neill, S P I K E D

John Banks won his seat with the help of a small band of committed youngsters. Now he tells them to go to hell, their response should be… Freedom, Choice and John Banks – C A C T U S K A T E

The problem with student loans isn't the interest. It's the principal.- David Burge

David Farrar blogs on Labour’s leadership and lack of ideas thenclaims “This is the problem you get when Labour doesn’t know what it stands for.” The National Party blogger fails to see the irony. The unfortunate experiment - K I W I B L O G

For the irony deficient like David, here’s one observation out of many that could be made, this one by Berend: “Interest free student loans, no raising pension age, but scrapping of military bands will bring the savings!” Scrapping military bands 'a national scandal' – N Z H E R A L D

“Among the Labour Party’s objections to increasing GST from 12.5% to 15% was that GST is, in their view, regressive…I shall be interested then to see their views on the Ministry of Health’s notion to increase the tax on tobacco to the point that cigarettes cost $100 per packet.” Our unsung regressive tax Apr – N Z C L A S S I C A L L I B E R A L

Some people call them Pull Peddlers. Ayn Rand called them The Aristocracy of Pull. I just call them scum, and they infest the corridors of Parliament buying and selling favours. Secretly. Name the lobbyists, Lockwood. – Duncan Garner, T V 3 B L O G

The United Nations—home of Food for Oil, the IPCC and Helen Clark—is going to build a machine of 4.5 billion people "in which resources are infinitely reusable and there is no adverse byproducts. Oh, and which refutes the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Isn’t it amazing what “sustainability” can do? UN to Spend Trillions Trying to Create a Perpetual Motion Machine– Dale Halling, S T A T E O F IN N O V A T I O N

“There is some satisfaction to be had in no longer having to identify Nancy Pelosi as US House Speaker. I never liked seeing her wield that gavel. Someone once remarked that a hammer in hand causes one to search for nails to pound in, and she was always searching for nails. She specialized in coffins." A Renewed Assault on Freedom of Speech – Edward Cline, R U L E O F R E A S O N

And still, after all these years, “there is still no convincing evidence that mobile phones can adversely affect human health.” There is abundant evidence however that believing every scare story you hear will. ‘No evidence’ of mobile phone cancer risk – I N D E P E N D E N T ( U K )

Yes, Sweden is still overtaxed and over-regulated. But unlike most other places in the world, the direction is the right one—and the results are plain. Sweden and the Recession – W H A L E O I L

Pity the poor professional asset manager in these times, in needing to navigate not just irrational markets but to cater to clients hungry for performance and intolerant of the bad kind. Party On – Tim Price, D A I L Y C A P I T A L I S T

A UK game show (featuring a strangely desiccated Jasper Carrot) uses the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma to provide a gripping finish. Here’s what usually happens:

Keen makes one serious error however. He says “when the crisis hits, European governments will be forced into imposing austerity on countries that desperately need a stimulus.” But with all due respect, Mr. Keen, isn’t this the same thing as saying that, “when the delirium tremens hits, the medic will be forced into imposing sobriety on a patient who desperately needs a fifth of vodka?” Open Letter To Steve Keen, Who Says Stimulus Is Necessary - Keith Weiner, D A I L Y CA P I T A L I S T

What he and his colleagues are looking for, and are all at sea without, are the insights of Jean Baptiste Say: “What he needs, as does everyone, is an understanding of where demand at the aggregate level comes from.” And where it comes from was first outlined by Monsieur Say 193 years ago. John Taylor may I introduce you to J.B. Say – Steven Kates, C A T A L L A X Y F I L E S

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. – P.J. O'Rourke

It’s still all Greek to the poor central bankers. “The current annual rate of contraction (-19%) of the Greek money supply guarantees many more eruptions from that Balkan nation.” Greece Is Imploding - Steve Hanke, C A T O @ L I B E R T Y

“Q: Why do Japanese investors keep buying their own public sector debt, which is racing to 250% of GDP by 2015, twice the level that got Greece in trouble? A: Part of the explanation is what we call financial repression, where the government puts pressure on domestic institutional investors, frequently through regulations. But much of the explanation is likely deflation, which creates acceptable real return to bonds, that are not taxed. The eventual JGB crisis must await 2015 or later…” One reason why Japan allows deflation – Tyler Cowen, M A R G I N A L R E V O L U T I O N

“Here is a puzzle for Keynesian and other neo-classical economists. When a consumer buys something, he must choose; and if he increases his purchase of one product, he must reduce his purchases of other products by the same amount. In other words he cannot buy both. This must be true for whole communities as well. How then can you have [the economic growth supposedly measured by GDP]? It is of course impossible without monetary inflation…. Understanding these dynamics is central to a proper understanding of our economic condition…” The paradox of choice – Alasdair MacLeod, C O B D E N C E N T R E

You might think designing a kitchen is all about aesthetics, ergonomics and craftsmanship. But you’d be wrong. It’s more about your happiness. Psychology of the Kitchen - Johnny Grey, G R E Y M A T T E R S

Don’t eat this. Ban that. John Stossel reckons the Food Nazis should go to hell. “I don't suggest that we ignore the experts and eat like pigs. But the scientific question should not overshadow the more fundamental issue. Who should decide what you can eat: you? Or the state? …The moral issue of force versus persuasion applies even if all the progressives' ideas about nutrition are correct.” Stossel on the Food Police – G U S V A N H O R N

The government sucks - but it sucks less than governments that don't allow you to say 'the government sucks.'- Penn Jillette

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